Decision makers

Stop Illegal Gun Smuggling That Fuels Violence in Mexico

In too many communities across Mexico, violence has become a frightening reality of daily life.

Over the past five years, more than 50,000 people have been killed in Mexico’s drug war. And many of the guns that fuel this violence are smuggled over the U.S. border.

A congressional report from last year noted that 70% of the weapons seized in Mexico in 2009 and 2010 and submitted for tracing came from the United States.

Courageous families all over Mexico are standing up in their own communities as part of a growing movement to end the violence.

Now you can be a part of the solution for a more peaceful Mexico. A bi-national campaign is calling on the U.S. government to stem the flow of illegal weapons going across the border.

President Obama has the power to help stop gun smugglers who are fueling violence in Mexico.

We’re asking him to:

--- Enforce the existing ban on the importation of military-style assault weapons (because many of them are later illegally smuggled into Mexico);

--- Require gun dealers to report to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the sale of multiple assault rifles to the same person over a period of five days (GOOD NEWS: last summer, the Obama Administration announced new reporting rules on multiple semiautomatic rifles in border states. A great first step – let’s keep the momentum going!);

--- Strengthen legal enforcement in regions of the U.S. that supply the bulk of the contraband weapons smuggled into Mexico.

Join with thousands of others on both sides of the border in asking President Obama to help stop gun smugglers.

**This petition was created in collaboration with the Washington Office on Latin America.

The official evidence is indisputable. Between 2006 and 2010, 34,162 Mexicans have been executed (data from the Mexican government), 5,397 have disappeared, and 11,333 migrants from other countries were kidnapped between April and September of 2010 (National Commission on Human Rights, Mexico). On top of that, from 2007 to 2010, 283 U.S. citizens have been killed in Mexico (U.S. Department of State). It is believed that the majority of these acts were perpetuated for reasons linked to crime and violence.

A U.S. agency estimated that between 2004 and 2008, 84% of the arms seized on crime scenes in Mexico came from the United States. A large percentage of them were assault weapons that had been previously imported to the United States. For example, since 2006, AK-47 assault rifles manufactured in Romania have been the most commonly purchased weapons in U.S. markets with the purpose of being sent to Mexico. You have the authority to use existing legislation that prohibits the importation of weapons other than for sporting purposes - and assault weapons are not for sport.

Violence destroys lives and families, and it threatens Mexican democracy.

Mr. President, you can take three actions that do not require the approval of the U.S. Congress:

--- Immediately detain and prohibit the importation of assault weapons to the United States, because many of them are sent as contraband to Mexico.

--- Order dealers to report to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) the sale of multiple assault rifles to the same person over a period of five days.

--- Increase the regulatory capacity of the ATF in those regions of the United States that supply the weapons contraband to Mexico, especially in border states.

The adoption of these measures is in the best interest of your country and is a form of reaffirming your commitment to human rights.